Alright friends, the long awaited not–a–lager review is here! It made sense to head pretty far in the other direction for this review – presenting Alarmist Brewing’s Le Jus Hazy IPA.

This might be one of those beers that defines a style (a style we here at Wall Brew Co. haven’t yet perfected). In fact, this won the first GABF Gold Medal for Hazy/Juicy IPAs. It deserves that honor in every way.

Le Jus doesn’t mess around when it comes to haze. Mistaking this beer for a fresh glass of orange juice could be easily forgiven. It seriously looks like a recently mixed packet of Tang. I don’t know how thin a glass would need to be to see through to the other side, but it’d have to be slender enough that it isn’t even worth considering.

Then there’s its aroma. Citra and mosaic show off exactly why they’re favorites for this style of beer. If I close my eyes while sniffing this thing, I swear I’m on a pineapple or mango farm somewhere tropical. Those deep citrus fruit and rind notes follow through to its taste.

Supremely silky, I imagine this is what liquid velvet might feel like. Tropical citrus fruits take the main stage, but a slight maltiness balances this a bit – keeping it from straying into decadence.

That balance might be exactly why this beer is as good as it is. It offers the right amount of juice. Such balance is even reflected in Alarmist’s marketing of the beer. In their own description of this beer, they call it “overrated.” Well, overrated or not, I’ll surely enjoy the rest of this 4-banger.

Cheers!